Powerball winner refuses to claim prize, wants to be anonymous

Anyone winning nearly 560 million dollars would be interested in getting that money as soon as they could. A woman from New Hampshire is refusing to claim her winnings over the fact she can't remain anonymous! I can't blame her, people will be coming out of the woodwork bugging her for money, or worse she could become a target like this guy from Chicago!

New Hampshire in it's defense has told the winner that she has better odds winning the Powerball again rather than remain anonymous. New Hampshire like Minnesota has open-records laws that mandate lotto winners publicly disclose their name, town, and amount won. Other states allow you to form anonymous trusts to shield the winners identity from their newfound riches.

In the article, the argument stems from the woman signing her name, rather than a trust.

Writing her name, as opposed to the name of a trust, was a "huge mistake" based on her interpretation of rules posted on the lottery website, the woman said in her complaint in Hillsborough Superior Court in Nashua.

Her resulting dilemma – forego forever either a once-in-a-lifetime payday, or her anonymity – is legally impermissible, according to her attorney.

"She is a longtime resident of New Hampshire and is an engaged community member," the woman’s attorney wrote in court documents. "She wishes to continue this work and the freedom to walk into a grocery store or attend public events without being known or targeted as the winner of a half-billion dollars."

If you win that amount of money chances are you'd be pressured in some avenue to give to charity, or to your local church, or help out family in some way. The open-records law is antiquated in this digital age, where no one has any form or privacy. Here is to hoping she can remain anonymous and can live her life peacefully without harassment from dishonorable people.

What do you think, should winners be made public, or should they be allowed to remain anonymous?